Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport in November were 3% higher than the same month last year, with numbers at Cork Airport up 5%.
Airport operator daa said that last month was the busiest ever November for both Cork and Dublin Airports as the two airports saw almost 2.5 million passengers pass through their terminals in November.
It also said that Dublin Airport numbers could have been higher but that it continues to take the necessary measures to dampen airline demand to comply with the 32 million terminals passenger cap.
It said that based on forecasts for December – when demand to fly in and out of Dublin Airport is expected to once again be very high – daa continues to warn that passenger numbers through its terminals will exceed 32 million and will be over 33 million for the full year 2024.
Today’s figures show that almost 2.3 million passengers used Dublin Airport last month, making it the busiest November ever in its 84-year history.
The busiest day of the month was Friday, November 1, when 100,000 passengers went through the airport’s two terminals.
A total of 30.97 million passengers have passed through the doors of Dublin Airport so far in 2024, an increase of 5% on the same time in 2023.
Daa said that it wants to continue to grow Dublin Airport in line with population growth and its mandate to ensure Ireland has global connectivity, but is obliged to do everything it can to dampen demand for travel due to the 32 million cap.
This includes asking the High Court to review the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) allocation of slots for the winter 2024/25 season.
The High Court hearing on this and the summer slots decision starts today.
Daa also said it is encouraged by the commitment given by the three main political parties in their pre-election manifestos to prioritise the lifting of the passenger cap.
The airport operator said it continues to progress its planning application to increase the passenger cap to 40 million.
Meanwhile, Cork Airport saw 201,000 passengers last month, an increase of 5% on November 2023 as Cork continues to be Ireland’s fastest growing airport.
Cork is set to get even busier in the months ahead after news of new routes and additional services, including a new summer 2025 service operated by TUI between Cork Airport and Dalaman in Turkey, and a more frequent Air France schedule between Cork and Paris.
Additional flights between Cork and Bristol and Edinburgh have also been announced for the Six Nations rugby in the early part of 2025, picking up the demand that Dublin Airport is not able to accommodate due to the passenger cap.
Kenny Jacobs, CEO of daa, said just as it was in October, growth at Dublin Airport was more subdued in November than it could have been as daa dampens demand and airlines continue to hold back on routes and additional services due to the cap.
“The importance of resolving the cap issue was highlighted by the main parties in the recent general election and we look forward to working with the new government on the issue. The High Court’s indication last week that decisions regarding the passenger cap and slot allocations should be referred to the European Court of Justice is also encouraging and underscores the complexities involved,” Mr Jacobs said.
He said that daa continues to make every effort to uplift the cap through the planning process and last month submitted more than 7,000 pages of additional information requested by Fingal County Council to help its planning team decide on daa’s Infrastructure Application, which would see the passenger cap lifted to 40 million passengers a year along with critical infrastructure projects.
“We also continue to explore a no build planning application to raise the cap to 36 million without building,” he said.
“Ultimately, we will need to find a solution to the situation in which Ireland’s main gateway is artificially constrained, with all the negative knock-on effects for jobs, the economy, tourism and connectivity. daa welcomes all efforts that can achieve this outcome as quickly as possible,” he added.
